Why no coat racks in Catholic churches?

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If this isn’t the best place for this question, I beg of the Moderators to please move it.

My husband and I are wondering why so many Catholic churches have no coat racks and why so many Catholics leave their coats and other winter wear on throughout Mass, even to walk to the altar to receive Holy Communion.

We both grew up Protestant (Me-Conference Baptist, him–Assemblies of God), and our churches had large coat racks which were always full.

Some senior citizens in our churches kept their coats on, but most of us took our coats off once we were in the church, and left them off until after the worship service and Sunday school. We were working it out, man! You can’t wear a coat when you’re serving the Lord, listening to His Word, praying, playing an instrument or singing in the choir, or helping out in the nursery.

My husband made the observation that we wouldn’t enter someone’s house as a guest, and leave our coats on throughout our visit (unless their house was freezing and the host/hostess invited us to leave our coats on). It would be rude to sit at the dinner table wearing our coats.

We visited a Catholic church on Sunday in another city, and the temp in the church was very warm to the point of discomfort; yet almost everyone had their coats on! At one point, a small child started fussing and finally cried out, “Mommy, I’m so hot!” No wonder–the child was wearing one of those big puffy winter parkas along with a hat pulled over his ears and mittens! Thankfully mama pulled the coat off the child (a major task).

This practice of leaving coats on throughout Mass seems to us to contribute to the image of Catholic churches as “cold” and “unfriendly.” It’s as if everyone can’t wait to rush out of the Mass.

We thought about it after the “hot” Mass and realized that the church didn’t have a coat rack. (We asked the usher when we came in.) And then we thought it over and realized that most of the Catholic churches that we attend or have visited don’t have coat racks. However our large church has a coat rack–but usually the only coats in it are my husband’s and my coats.

And these churches are NOT cold! Quite the opposite. In fact, the churches are actually colder in the summer when the air conditioning is on (and then the ladies wear shorts and tank-tops, and the men wear Bermudas and t-shirts!)

So what is the “mystery” that my formerly Protestant husband and I don’t understand about this strange practice? WHY do Catholics do this?! Does it have something to do with mortifying the flesh–overdressing in the desert-like central heating and underdressing in the frosty air conditioning.

I’ll be brutally honest, brothers and sisters–I think it’s kind of weird! And I think a lot of Protestants would agree with me and wonder why crazy Catholics walk around in their “skimpies” in the AC and in their “woolies” in the central heat!

Please initiate us into the secret of the “Coated Catholics.”

And please, if you don’t mind, discuss why it would be good for Catholics to learn to “take their coats off in church and sit a spell!”

Thanks.

P.S. The one logical explanation I can think of is that people are afraid that their coats will be stolen. I suppose that happens, although I never recall it happening during all my years in Protestant churches. So why would Catholic churches attract more coat thieves than Protestant churches? Is that another mystery that we need to be initiated into?

Thanks again!
 
well in our parish in the winter months we do leave our coats on 75% of the time as our church is old and drafty. you would freeze your bum off if you did not have a coat on.
😃

I have been to other churchs and while no coat racks are found people do take off their coats and just leave them in the pew beside them or behind them
 
I’ll venture a response to this. Could there not be enough room for a coat rack in the church? My church has a precious little room at the entrance as is, a coat rack would just be over crowding.

Also, I like bringing my coat with me. I don’t wear it during mass typically (unless the pastor is conserving on the heating oil), but it is rather handy to “mark my territory” so to speak when I go up for communion. If I leave it in the pew, I know where I was sitting and can find my way back (I know in the long run it doesn’t matter where you end up…I’m just a little odd 😃 )
 
When I belonged to a Byzantine Catholic church, they had a coat rack. So there are Catholic parishes with this feature.

Now I am Orthodox, and we have a coat rack too! 😃

Honestly, many Roman Catholic parishes are so very large and impersonal, they would need a cloak room of a significant size and some special way to keep it organized. No single ‘rack’ would be adequate. Perhaps a garment conveyor…:ehh:

http://www.planiform.com/English/images/MiniGarmentConv.jpg
Michael*
 
I really don’t know why many churches don’t have coat racks. I do know that with most churches I’ve attended, it is sometimes really cold - especially in older churches - so you have to wear your coat. I’d say that about half the people at churches I’ve attended will take their coats off and just leave it in the pews. That’s what I usually do, although I’m usually cantoring, so I hang my coat up in the sacristy.

Another theory about why they may not take their coats off may be so that there will be room for other parishioners/congregants. When I was a kid and would attend mass with my family, we’d sometimes end up either sitting on top of our coats or have them on our laps, especially when the mass was packed and thus constantly maneuvering them when you sit and stand. So, it may be easier for people to just keep them on.
 
I usually get kind of excited when it gets cold enough to allow me to wear a coat to Mass so I have somewhere to put my keys. The only thing I hate more than the sound of keys sliding on a pew is the feeling of my keys in my pants pocket. Only during the winter do I get to keep all my stuff in my coat instead of in the pew next to me. Maybe I just take too much stuff with me to Mass? I only carry my little blue La Pietà booklet, a couple rosaries (2), my Blessed be God prayerbook and Sunday Missal if going to an EF Mass, and my keys.

I guess it really isn’t all that much when you look at it. I can fit everything but my books in my coat pockets, but I also don’t like to leave them behind when I go up for Communion. I have a bad habit of closing my eyes a bit too much on the way back, getting lost, becoming separated from my books for the remainder of Mass 😛

Anyhow, thats why I like to remain coated.
 
Ignatius2000 said:
I guess it really isn’t all that much when you look at it. I can fit everything but my books in my coat pockets, but I also don’t like to leave them behind when I go up for Communion. I have a bad habit of closing my eyes a bit too much on the way back, getting lost, becoming separated from my books for the remainder of Mass 😛

Anyhow, thats why I like to remain coated.
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I don’t carry anything with me to Mass, so I like to leave my coat in the pew to make sure I go back to the right pew after Communion if the people ahead of me walk out the door after Communion instead of returning to their pews for the rest of Mass.

My parish does not have coat racks. It is probably too large to have them. I leave my coat in the pew. The church is warmer in the winter with the heat on than in the summer with the AC on. In the summer it can be quite chilly at times.
 
Coming home, I don’t want to realize that I am wearing somebody else’s coat. 😃 Imagine a mass with more than 1,000 members - how odd one picks up somebody else’s coat?
 
Hmm I never thought of that. In my home church it’s usually too cold in the winter (but boiling in the summer:rolleyes: ) that I would be shivering if I took my coat off. It’s probably a combination of poor logistics, Catholic parishes are very large and it would be a nightmare retrieving one’s coat at the end of Mass, which leads to the second problem of space close to the exit. Perhaps newer churches are designed with this in mind. But even so- I don’t see a problem with just taking the coat off in the pew if temperatures permit.
 
pm1853 said:
I’ll venture a response to this. Could there not be enough room for a coat rack in the church? My church has a precious little room at the entrance as is, a coat rack would just be over crowding.

Also, I like bringing my coat with me. I don’t wear it during mass typically (unless the pastor is conserving on the heating oil), but it is rather handy to “mark my territory” so to speak when I go up for communion. If I leave it in the pew, I know where I was sitting and can find my way back (I know in the long run it doesn’t matter where you end up…I’m just a little odd 😃 )
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I agree that space is probably one reason. Also most of the churches that I have attended usually have a capacity of 300-500 people.

Can you imagine the “mass” confusion with so many trying to hang their coats and then to retrieve them before the next group arrives for the next Mass.

Catholics aren’t “odd” in that way, just practical. If you are warm, you take your coat off, if you are comfortable leave it on. Simple as that.

I have never heard of anyone not taking their coat off because they are afraid of thievery.😃
 
lak611 said:
I don’t carry anything with me to Mass, so I like to leave my coat in the pew to make sure I go back to the right pew after Communion if the people ahead of me walk out the door after Communion instead of returning to their pews for the rest of Mass.
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Great idea!

My first five or so times at Mass I was hopeless to find my old pew. After all, Evangelicals (like I was) NEVER play musical chairs during Church. 😉
 
Well in my diocese, the cathedral is very, very cold, so everyone keeps their coats on. I think a lot of older styled churches are also pretty cold so it makes no sense to actually have coat racks. The church that I go to during the school year is usually heated though, and they have quite a few coat racks.
 
My church seats 1400 and it is usually full at all masses. I cannot imagine the chaos of a coat room. We would need a coat check person and a whole lot of extra time before and after mass to sort it out. In the meantime, the folks for the next mass are pushing through the doors before we can exit even without the problem of trying to go find a coat.

We don’t have to wear them most of the year, but when it is cold we just sit on them.
 
I want to thank you for this forum because I never thought about how it is rude to leave your coat on during mass.

People have replied with their various reasons of why they keep their coat on in their particular church but no one has addressed the central question you raised about appropriate dress for mass.

For Catholics, mass or “going to church” is an obligation. (This is not a bad thing.) That obligation gets many people to church that would not otherwise go every Sunday. Myself included sometimes! 😊 I am thankful for that obligation.

However, unfortunately mass can become just another errand for some people. When running errands, you wear whatever. Jeans, sweats. And you try to get them done quickly. So I think part of the coat thing is because they want to get in and get out.

When I was Protestant, going to church was a lot about being seen. You dressed up, you socialized, you went to brunch afterward. This was my experience, I’m not generalizing all protestant churches.

When I became Catholic, I immediately noticed how many different people were present at mass. People from all backgrounds, dressed in all different ways. You could come late and people wouldn’t stare at you like you were crazy.

Anyway those are my thoughts- thank you for bringing this up.
 
The Baptist church I was raised in before I got saved and left it didn’t have coat racks.
 
We have a small church and a small coat rack which a few people use. I don’t know about anyone else, but I keep my coat on because it’s freezing in our church. I was a reader last week so I came in early and went to my office to practice, leaving my coat there when I went in to the church. I spent the Mass shivering. If I’m reading I take my coat off before I go up but it promptly goes back on when I return to my pew.

On the odd time that the temp is comfortable I simply remove my coat in the pew and lay it over the back of the pew ahead, or next to me or on the floor. It’s what I’ve been used to doing for the past 50 years.
 
Sorry, folks, but I am not buying the explanation that your churches are too big for a coat rack, and that people would have problems finding their coat.

The Protestant church that I grew up in had over a thousand people in attendance on Sunday mornings, and my husband’s church had several thousand (yes, back in the 70s–we attended some honkin’ big churches!). We had mulitiple church services at our churches, as we were too big to all fit into one worship service. But even as a little child, I never had trouble finding my coat. Neither did any of the hundreds of senior citizens who attended my church. And my church had several large coat racks, so I had to not only remember where on the rack that I kept my coat, but also which coat rack I had hung it on. Same for my husband’s church.

I think that Catholics have as much intelligence as Protestants.

As for the cold of older churches, I can certainly understand that. But it seems to me that most older churches in the U.S. have modernized their buildings and added central heating (to not rehab a building and add heat is hard on the pipes and building structure). And there are MANY Protestant church buildings that are as old or older than Catholic church buildings (my parents in law attend one that is over a hundred years old), and those people don’t wear coats throughout the worship service. I know–I’ve been to these churches!

But if the explanation for Catholics leaving their coats on is that their church buildings are too cold, then I firmly believe that we need to take a serious look at turning up the heat. I honestly think it would add to the friendly and warm atmosphere of the church if people took their coats off in church! If people are sitting there shivering, no WONDER they stay away from Mass! And no wonder they go to the Protestant megachurches where they can not only be warm while listening to the sermon, but they can even sip lattes and enjoy a croissant with their friends before, after, and in some megachurches, DURING the worship service. Duh!

If turning up the heat in our Catholic church buildings will help people to be more faithful in attending Mass, then I say, “Turn up the heat.”

As for Protestants attending a church for “show,” I think we can say that there are Catholics who attend church for show. But most people of faith attend church to honor God, worship Him, and for Catholics, to receive Him in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. I am charitable enough to believe that most people don’t go to church to show off their fashion sense.

So far the best explanation has been to mark the spot in the pew. I’ve never visited any Episcopal church services and so I don’t know if these people leave their coats on during their worship service. I usually use a little prayer book to “mark my spot.” But I also don’t worry too much about it if I end up in a different spot after Holy Communion. We’re all family, after all.
 
Stella_Matutina said:
I want to thank you for this forum because I never thought about how it is rude to leave your coat on during mass…
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It’s not rude. Those who choose to keep their coats are perfectly free to do so. The etiquette rule here is that people should not be buttinskys regarding what others choose to do with their coats.
 
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